SPICY

SPICY is a collective led by and for queer and trans people of color working at the intersection of arts, organizing, and publishing. We operate with the understanding that art is a transformative tool, and our mission is to harness its power to make meaningful change in the world.

Our organizing and arts work, led by working class artists, is rooted in an anti-capitalist ethnic that places wellness over output. Therefore, we ebb, flow, disappear, and reappear when needed.

We have grown to a team of 16 artists and together we publish zines, host zine-making workshops for community across age and skill, organize political education teach-ins, curate immersive arts events, and more. In 2023, we launched our first ever Zine-Making Fellowship, and redistributed microgrants to queer and trans New York-based zinesters.

We have partnered with Writers Club NY, BUFU, Yellow Jackets Collective, Nowadays, Secret Riso Club, the Brooklyn Art Book Fair, New Women Space, NYC Feminist Zinefest, the New Museum, the New York Public Library, and are a founding member of the Coalition for Small Arts NYC.

SPICY is committed to adhering to the Palestinian international call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) and to complying with the guidelines of the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).

We stand in total solidarity with the people of Palestine, who have suffered under the eliminationist violence of the Western imperial and Zionist powers for more than a century; and recognize their right—under law and morality—as an occupied people to resist their oppressors.

In our organizational and individual capacities as representatives of arts and culture institutions, we commit to not crossing the international picket line for Palestine.

Specifically, we commit—where applicable—to:

Boycott any cultural product commissioned by an official Israeli body;
Boycott any cultural product funded by an official Israeli body, even if not commissioned;
Boycott any cultural event that is partially or fully sponsored or funded by an official Israeli body;
Refrain from participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration, or joint projects with Israeli institutions, including suspension of all forms of funding and subsidies to/from these institutions;
Refrain from hosting or circulating any events or cultural products operating under the auspices of “normalization”, or which advance a false symmetry between oppressed and oppressor;
Support Palestinian academic and cultural institutions directly without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts as an explicit or implicit condition for such support.

To assist in complying with this call, here are some examples of our commitments:

Not to lecture or perform at or in cooperation with complicit Israeli cultural institutions or events.
Not to extend recognition to Israeli cultural organizations by exhibiting, presenting, and showcasing their work (e.g., films, installations, literary works).
Not to host a cultural event if it is partially or fully sponsored by an official Israeli body or a complicit institution.
Not to promote a cultural product (e.g., film, artwork, book) if it is commissioned by an official Israeli body or non-Israeli institution that serves Brand Israel or similar propaganda purposes.
Demand an end to institutional or university exchange programs or satellite campuses with Israel.

We urge all arts organizations, writers, cultural workers, and artists to take action now. If you too are considering endorsing PACBI or have questions about how to get organized, please reach out.